(WGGB/WSHM) -- With bears getting more active after the long winter, bear season has begun. So, you could be getting some unexpected guests soon. Now, wildlife experts say now is the time to bear-proof your yard.

Western Mass News spoke with Susan Matthews, who is used to having her neighbors hanging out on her deck. However, the other night, she got a very unexpected guest. On Saturday night, her ring camera caught footage the moment a black bear wandered onto her deck. “I couldn’t believe it, first of all, because they always kind of, like, hang out down there. But to have one come up on the deck and just kind of march around and take a little inventory of everything. That was different,” she explains.

Matthews has lived in West Springfield for 40 years and her new ring camera captured a moment she won’t forget, “I was really in awe of the color of his nose. Because it was the most beautiful brown golden color. It was just a very pretty, pretty bear... I’m not one to get out and see nature as much as other people who might have had many encounters. So, this was something really different for me. And I really appreciated it.”

Still, Matthews wanted to know, if she came across a bear on her deck again, what should she do? Western Mass News got some advice from Agawam Animal Control Officer Allison Strong, who says it’s best to make your presence known. “I usually will clap my hands, yell at the bear, wave my hands, and they will have a tendency to move on,” she explained. She goes on to say that unless bears have a reason to be protective of food or their young, they want nothing to do with humans.

Other tips include:

Strong also suggests avoiding bear spray and using something like an air horn or citronella spray, “Bear spray is tough, um, because you’re gonna have collateral damage. Right? So, if you’re walking your dog, and you encounter a bear, and it’s not far away from you, it’s close now you’re spraying in the air, you’re going to get affected, your animal’s gonna be affected.”

At the end of the day bears are wild animals, and Strong says they should stay that way, “So, that’s why we make the recommendations. Don’t let them feel comfortable with us. Don’t feed them.”

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